Former Steelers Rival Josh Cribbs Gives Honest Explanation On Why He Couldn't Sign With Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns have one of the biggest rivalries in the NFL. While Pittsburgh leads the Turnpike Rivalry, it has created some big events and emotions over the years, especially involving the players on the field. While they all mostly have mutual respect, this rivalry has impacted decisions in some players' careers. In fact, this rivalry prevented Pittsburgh from landing a star return man in the early 2010s in Josh Cribbs.

Cribbs was an All-Pro kick returner for the Browns and was one of their biggest stars for many years. As he got older, Cleveland decided not to retain him following the 2011 season. He bounced around three other organizations after that, including the then-Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, and Indianapolis Colts. While he didn't last very long with those teams, Cribbs had a chance to play against the Browns twice a year with the Steelers, but he turned it down. He just didn't want to do that to the Cleveland fan base, despite Pittsburgh being one of his first offers in free agency.

Declining the offer to play for a team that hasn't finished below .500 in many years is intriguing for a player. Sure, the rivalry plays a major role in that, but still, you'd think that playing for a Super Bowl contender would outweigh that feeling. Not for Cribbs however, as he talked about how he could never play for the Steelers on the BIGPLAY Cleveland Podcast.

"I wouldn't after seeing how Joe Haden was welcomed back," Cribbs stated. "I think after a while, you would have seen it was about business and football, if I would have made that move. I respected [Mike] Tomlin, playing against him twice a year, every year. It was a mutual respect across the 50-yard line. I just couldn't do it. I was bred from Cleveland. Bred into hating the black and gold. I couldn't do it. It just wasn't in me."

Ever since he began his NFL career, Cribbs was always taught to hate the Steelers. That's understandable, considering the same goes in the Pittsburgh locker room about Cleveland. Nonetheless, it's intriguing to know that he even had the opportunity, but turned it down because of this hatred. Pittsburgh could have definitely used him, but the deep rivalry blocked them from having a chance in his market.

This case with Cribbs is quite interesting, especially after seeing other players from the AFC North join rivals teams. James Harrison left the Steelers for the Cincinnati Bengals back in 2013, right around the time of this Cribbs situation. Then of course, Mike Wallace eventually signed and played with Baltimore. It impacted Cribbs from playing on a contender, but that wasn't the same for these two other former Steelers players.

Cribbs mentioned on the podcast about the Joe Haden situation too. Those were a little different as when the Browns released him in 2017, he immediately signed with the Steelers. Cleveland let him go, rather than him becoming a free agent down the road. 

There was always respect, but that wasn't enough for Cribbs to play for Mike Tomlin. The rivalry just hit a little deeper to Cribbs because that is what he was brought up knowing in his professional career. He missed out on a couple of mediocre years in 2012 and 2013, but nonetheless, he could have been a difference-maker for this team.

Steelers Never Had A Chance At Browns Star Josh Cribbs

It's always interesting to hear what the big rivalries like this mean to the players. Sometimes, it can be bigger than the game of football itself, which can often lead to disastrous scuffles in games. However, it makes for very intense and meaningful contests. 

Cribbs will likely never forget about the rivalry with Pittsburgh, which was so bad, he refused to play for them after the Browns moved on.

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